Mate in Two
by Flaming Tigress Mage
Summary: Green's strategies always went exactly to plan - at least, until he met Red. Spoilers through Vol. 15 of the manga, farther if you squint, Japanese names


Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Sorry for the delay.

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Green's strategies always went exactly to plan – at least, until he met Red.

Green had learned from an early age that if he wanted his Pokémon to excel, he would have to train alongside them. His master had him training day in and day out, until Green's body could keep up with those of his Pokémon. When his grandfather first gave him a Charmander, Green trained alongside it day in and day out as the two slowly bonded.

Green _knew_ that he had the right idea when Charmander became strong enough to overcome most of the Pokémon trainers he met up with, regardless of type difference. Instead of letting himself grow complacent, Green continued to train, determined to show that he was the best.

Green wasn't really upset when people called him by the name of "Professor Oak's grandson" instead of his name. His master had worked him until he was too tired to think about it the very first day, and provided the best piece of advice he could – that as long as Green was strong, it didn't matter whose grandson he was. Green didn't train to be strong so he could overcome his grandfather's image – he trained so he could say, without lying, that he was the best trainer in the world.

This was the thought on his mind as he found the strange Pokémon on the outskirts of Pallet Town, and attacked with Charmander. The little fire Pokémon had taken Green's goals on as his own, and was determined to display to all that its master was as good as could be. But soon enough, both of them realized that Charmander was no match for the Pokémon, and they decided simultaneously to leave.

It was at that point exactly where Red stumbled in, yelling at Green for giving up, and fighting the Pokémon despite the obvious strength difference. Green dismissed the kid outright – he was obviously too dumb to be able to tell when he was outclassed – and continued on into Viridian Forest. But soon enough, right when he had _finally_ found that elusive Kangaskhan after hours of searching, the selfsame idiot attacked Green, and healed the Kangaskhan, letting it wander off!

These two meetings would only be the first in the thick mental folder titled 'Red'.

Slowly, the other boy would begin to tear down each and every single one of Green's knowledge on how Pokémon should battle and be trained. Although he will never admit it to anyone else, Green stuck around out of curiosity to watch Red battle the Pewter Gym leader. The Pikachu was freshly caught – weak, hardly any bond with the trainer, and at a complete disadvantage against the ground-type Onix. And yet, somehow, Red had managed to eke out a victory, strengthening the Pokémon's ties to its trainer in an instant, rather than in the long, arduous process of training together that Green used.

It was the same everywhere else, only _starting_ with 'Pokémon don't have to be with you forever to be your 'friends'.' For one, there was the switch of Pokémon, in which Green had trained Red's Pokémon three days with minimal improvement, while Red had just goofed around with Green's Pokémon and somehow managed to evolve his Machoke by doing so. It infuriated Green that he had been training for three days, and his Pokémon hadn't gotten any stronger visibly – and yet, they were more efficient in battle than they had ever been. Even his new Porygon had relaxed and been easier to train.

Green decided right then and there that if Red's Pokémon could be that efficient, despite their levels, he would have to consider the guy his most dangerous enemy to the title of 'best'. But apparently, Red didn't limit his technique of 'screwing with Green's preconceptions' to battle, as when they reached Saffron City, both trying to get in, he proved to be an even better ally than he was a dangerous rival.

Red was a charismatic person, Green decided, perfectly capable of getting people to go along with him. Even though he had no plans of doing so, even Green found himself being swept along by Red, adapting and changing his strategies to match the enigma. He studied Red's style incessantly before the Pokémon League, deciding to use fire to fight fire, only to find out that Red had done something similar, if not the exact same, and that both of them had significantly incorporated the other's style.

Once Red beat out Green for the Pokémon League championship, Green underwent a mental shift so subtle he didn't even notice it until he went through a period of reflection. Green's goal was no longer to be the best, but to be better than Red. _That_ particular goal was in effect until Red disappeared after the strange challenge letter he had received. Green was not the type to delude himself – he knew that he was worried about Red, and not just because he wanted one final battle. His worry caused him to take on that Yellow kid in hopes that she'd be able to help Red out when the showdown came.

All throughout the time Green was training with Yellow, he prepared himself for the final battle with the Elite Four, getting ready to take Red's place and make up with plenty of firepower. But once again, his plans were blown apart as Red showed up on his bike, shortly after Green had started making his way to the top of the volcano, and it turned out that none of the Pallet Town trainers actually _participated_ in the final battle besides for aiding the final attack, performed by _Red's_ Pokémon.

As time passed and more and more incidents that fell under the 'Red' category in Green's mind occurred, Green began to suspect that Red _deliberately_ screwed with Green's preconceptions, just for kicks. Oh, Red's going to become the new Viridian Gym leader –wait, no, he's not! Okay, well, at least Red's recuperating at Mount Silver while the rest of us are about to crash into that wall at terminal velocity – _no he's not, he's standing right in front of the train_. At least Yellow _had_ the feathers that would save that kid's life – _what do you mean you didn't know she was a girl, you _moron!

It was times like these when Green _knew_ that he would never understand his rival. No matter how many plans he made that took Red into account, no matter how much data he took on Red to try and understand him, just when he finally thought he had figured everything out, the other boy would wreck it all with a casual comment that threw Green's world for a loop. Green wasn't _quite_ paranoid yet, but after he mentally filed Red under the category of 'incomprehensible' and Red did _everything_ according to Green's plans for almost a year, he was almost willing to believe that Red was reading his mind in order to figure out what would exasperate Green the most.

Green knows that the only way to understand Red is to think like him – _not at all_ he thinks on his worse days, _only using his instincts_ on the better days, and no matter what, he cannot give up his strategies and plans in order to incorporate Red into them. _At least_, Green thinks wryly, _no matter how he screws stuff up, we can all depend on him._

Green knows that Blue understands _exactly_ how he feels. She's gone through her own series of tricks as a con man (or a con woman, in her case) and Red seems to be in every single screw up. "I swear," she complains one day to Green, "If I decided to go to that other land, Hoenn, and try and do something there, Red would be over within hours, tripping over me or getting involved in a major battle, or doing _something_ to mess me up." Green nods sympathetically, and buys the two of them ice creams, in an attempt to forget about Red in brain-freeze-induced bliss. (Alright, so maybe he _does_ delude himself, but only sometimes.) Red managed to screw that one up, too, showing up with Yellow just as Green had stopped thinking about him.

Red is Green's best friend, greatest rival, and biggest pain _ever_, and it infuriates Green that the tactics which work so easily against anyone else simply flow past Red like water. Red is the living embodiment of Murphy's Law. Red is the person who trips over the trapped wire without even seeing it and yet not setting it off. Red is an insane sadist who bases his pleasure on Green's frustration.

Red has been called all these things to his face by Green on his worse days, and he doesn't even _yell_ anymore, just snorts and says that if Green was having a bad day and wanted to battle, he could have just _said _so. Green then finds himself being dragged first outside and then back in after their battle is done, a snack prepared by Daisy waiting for the both of them.

Red messes up _every single one_ of Green's predictions, and Green hates him so much for it.

Green's strategies always went _exactly_ to plan until Red showed up, and Green takes every opportunity to remind the both of them of that.

Red is the person playing Green in chess, and just as Green is sure that he has mate in two, it turns out they were playing checkers instead, and Red has just jumped all of Green's pieces.

And despite (or perhaps because of, Green is not sure which) all that, Red is Green's best friend, and Green wouldn't trade him in for a new one if his life depended on it.

Green doesn't make plans anymore for anything outside of one-on-one battles with trainers and challengers. When asked why, he just sighs and says, "No plan survives first contact with Red."


End file.
